The Flower Bowl (BC) (Grade 2)- $500.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and Three Eighths on the Inner Turf
September 2, 2023

Last week, Mb Stables got closer to the 1,000 graded stake victory milestone, getting to 998 such wins. With many good horses going this weekend, he would seem to have a very good shot at picking that up now, it would just be a matter of when and where. In the 6th race at SAR, Bay The Lady picked up win #999, putting us on the edge of our seats in knowing that it could happen in any race from this point. Mb Stables didn’t wait long, as the next race on the card would be The Flower Bowl, and with a big win by Untidy, the massive number of 1,000 has been hit. This is an extraordinary achievement, and even though we have so many other good trainers in the game, the high level of competition amongst those trainers makes you wonder if anyone else ever will hit this milestone. Congratulations to Mb Stables! Playing a secondary role with this race, but no less important (and maybe more so), is that fact that Untidy’s win clinches her spot in the BC Fillies and Mares Turf. She seemed like the one to beat in the race, and she was certainly lived up to the billing with a four-length win. It’s the second win in the Flower Bowl for Mb Stables, as he previously won in 2015 with the late Mentioned Honorably. Jockey J R Velazquez is a two-time winner as well, but you have to go all the way back to 2006 for his prior win. The time of the victory was 2:12.14, the quickest of the three editions of the race held at this distance. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/2 Mile- :48.12)- The early leader for the race will be Swam Pass, as the TwinTowersRacing filly breaks well out of the gate and rounds the first turn and moves into the frontstretch with a lead of a length. Ginger Lucy runs second for The Sidley Stud and is positioned to potentially run alongside the leader to her outside. Third is the Glorify Stables- trained Tessas Star, and she runs on the rail, behind Swam Pass. Behind them, we have a gap of around three lengths to find our eventual race winner, Untidy, for Mb Stables. She is also on the rail and has Sin City Gilrz (Czech Out Farms) nearby to her outside. Cardano (Mo Mentum Farm) was sluggish right from the start.

(3/4 Mile- 1:12.32)- Around the clubhouse turn, Swam Pass is still the race leader, and maintains her length lead. Ginger Lucy is maintained her position in the second lane but has not had an interest in pulling up alongside the leader as of yet. Tessas Star is still third and seems to just be running her own race to this point. Meanwhile, Untidy closes in on the top three as that gap that had existed previously was just about gone as she prepared to pull up behind Tessas Star and potentially make a move to go around them. Sin City Girlz did not make the same advance, and is two lengths or so behind, and Cardano is way out of it.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- About midway through the backstretch, we have both Ginger Lucy and Tessas Star move over a lane or two as they look to get around Swam Pass, but it may have been three-year-old forcing that move. After all, she continued to close and also looked to make her move and would be four wide entering our final turn. Once in that spot, it would not take her long to get by the second and third place horses, as they had nothing for her, but maybe Swam Pass could put up a little more of a fight. Well, actually she couldn’t do that, either, and before we were even halfway through the turn, Untidy had taken the lead. With no new challengers emerging, this race seemed over before we even hit the top of the stretch. Once there, her lead was almost two lengths, making #1000 for her trainer seem less than a quarter mile away.

(Finish- 2:12.14)- With a clear lead early in the stretch, Mb Stables could breathe easier knowing he would not be stuck on #999 very long. This race was hers, as all we had left to do was watch her run as she continued to pull away from the field. When all is said and done, it’s a four length win for Untidy, and a spot in the BC F & M Turf. Tessas Star completes the exacta by a length over Sin City Girlz who was simply the best of the rest as Swam Pass and Ginger Lucy tired to fourth and fifth. Cardano will probably be headed back to the dirt.

About The Winner- Untidy, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a three-year-old filly by Lil Pink Panther and is out of Play It Forward. She was bred in California by Two Hearts One Love as a second quarter two-year-old and was acquired by Mb Stables in the June 2022 auction when she was still unraced for $32.010. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fifth in nine starts, her fourth stake win and third graded win. Her career earnings are now $860.000.

Track: Firm
Time: :48   1:12¹  1:36³  2:12

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 2 Paid 12.10
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 2 – 4 Paid 454.70

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES